For the uninitiated, skincare is a tricky world to navigate. It is also, inevitably, an expensive one. It’s easy to gawp at the price of some of the lotions and potions MR PORTER stocks – especially when that money could be going towards that pair of sneakers or new leather jacket you’ve got your eye on – without the context of a thorough grooming education to guide you.

The best luxury skincare you’ll find on MR PORTER very much follows the same formula as the clothes we sell. Higher-quality ingredients in your daily facial moisturiser justify the price, just like a bespoke suit made from the finest worsted wool commands top dollar. Both are sound investments, but you have to wear your skin all the time. And when you put it like that, well, it seems more than worth it.

La Mer’s Crème De La Mer is perhaps one of the best-known moisturisers in the world. Developed by an actual rocket scientist to soothe the burns he sustained in an accident, the stuff inside the iconic white tub contains the brand’s signature Miracle Broth complex, a fermented mixture of giant sea kelp, vitamins and minerals that takes three to four months to brew and that promises rejuvenated skin, instantly. Hence the sticker price.

Dr. Barbara Sturm is the name to know in high-performance grooming. A specialist in no-needle anti-ageing skincare and reducing inflammation, the good doctor creates lotions and potions packed with high concentrations of active ingredients, most of which you won’t have any trouble pronouncing. The brand’s popular Night Serum, for example, contains hydrating hyaluronic acid and beta gluten, a humectant moisturiser, but also calming extracts of purslane, cotton thistle and plankton to treat redness. Apply at bedtime and wake up looking refreshed.

When a brand calls its signature product The Cream, like it’s the final word in stuff you apply to your skin, that’s bound to pique your interest a little. You can chalk it up to savvy marketing, but truly, for Augustinus Bader, it is what’s inside that counts. Each bottle contains the company’s patented TFC8 complex, a medley of amino acids, top-notch vitamins and naturally occurring molecules in your skin, which promote cell renewal and regeneration for a lighter, brighter and fresher complexion. We don’t like to throw the words “miracle product” around, but we will say this little blue tube has developed a cult following with good reason.

Budding eco-skincare brands, take note. Tata Harper is the example to follow. Completely transparent about its manufacture (all on an organic farm in Vermont if you’re wondering) and packaging (which is made from recyclable glass and looks quite the part on your bathroom shelf), the brand uses a cornucopia of natural ingredients and is free from toxins, artificial fragrances or synthetic chemicals. The Clarifying Cleanser is a bestseller and is packed with blemish-busting extracts such as willow bark extract and antioxidising barley leaf juice, as well as soothing olive oil and calendula. Plus, it doubles as a quick-fix mask if you leave on for a few minutes.

Three guesses where Harley Street-based brand 111SKIN tests its ingredients. If one of your answers was “outer space”, you’d be right. The label’s iconic hydrogel treatment masks don’t come cheap (they’re infused with 24-carat gold, after all), but have nevertheless developed a devoted following who laud its calming and instant glow-giving properties. There’s also a sorcery-like substance called Argireline in the mix, a peptide that inhibits muscle movements to reduce the appearance of fine lines. Truly astronomic, in every sense.